A Selfish Act
by StarPurpleandBlue
Summary: He knew it had been selfish on his part, but just that one more time he had wanted to protect the one he loved. He knew it would come with a price, but he didn't regret doing it. He just felt bad about the fact that he would make the other have to bear the consequences of his decision. AU.


_**A/N:**_ Yo~! How are you all? So, I was supposed to be finishing the next chapter of my fanfic _Keep on Fighting_, but then this idea came to me and I had to write it :P It's pretty rare for me to write small things (yes, this is small for me. It has less than a thousand words on Word, so...), but I succeeded in writing it!

I think I'm gonna let this as an one-shot, but if I get the inspiration or you readers ask me to, then I'll continue it. Maybe :P

Oh, and this chapter has been betaread by _Aerle_!

That's all! Now go ahead and read it! And if you can, please leave me a review so I can know what you thought! :D

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It's funny how most people, when they're about to die, begin to wonder what comes after death. Is there a Heaven or Hell? Is reincarnation real? Maybe something else happens?

Ace had never been religious, so he didn't know exactly what the different religions said about it. For him, when he thought of death, there was only a lost and slightly curious feeling. Would he still be aware to see what came next?

And it was with such thoughts that he caught himself with at the moment. His slightly blurry eyes roamed around without settling on anything, only noticing the large amount of lights coming from what he thought were shops. Worried voices sounded from different places around him, one or another apparently yelling something he didn't understand.

He then was able to start focusing on some things. He could see Thatch nearby talking on the phone while walking swiftly from one side to the other, seemingly worried. Izou was rapidly moving away from his sight with Vista accompanying him, both showing angry expressions on their faces. Besides these three, some other people were standing close by, curious to know what was happening or, perhaps, what would happen to those in the center of the attention. However, none of them was the person Ace wanted to see the most.

Moving his eyes again, they finally found a figure that was kneeling on the opposite side of where he had been looking at. The man's lightly tanned skin was now pale, his blond hair disheveled and his blue eyes fixed on him. Ace watched as the blond's lips moved nonstop and how his frightened eyes seemed to be unable to contain some tears from escaping. It was then that he felt the warm hand of his boyfriend on his face and that his ears decided they wanted to work enough so he could hear the blond calling his name.

"M-Marco..." He managed to say, his heart clenching while he realized that he was the cause of such suffering clearly written on the face of his boyfriend. "D-don't cry... It wasn't… your fault..."

"Of course it was, yoi!" Was the blond's trembling response. "I was the one that should have been hit, not you! I should...! I should have done something! I should have stopped it!"

"I-it was me… who got in… the way of the knife..." Ace smiled weakly. He could still feel the sharp object stuck in his body, blood flowing lazily through the hole created. He wasn't, however, feeling a lot of pain in his dazed state. "Just... don't cry... I don't like... seeing you sad..."

"So hold on, yoi!" Marco begged while he continued to put pressure on the wound to prevent more blood from coming out; the piece of the broken knife was too deeply stuck in Ace's body, preventing it from being removed. "Thatch's already called the ambulance. They'll soon be here, so you just need to hold on until then. _Please, Ace_."

Ace only smiled again; with the way that his strength was fading quickly, he wasn't sure he could do what Marco was asking of him. Seeing the growing desperation in the face of his boyfriend when he also realized that only made him feel another pang in his heart.

What he least wanted to see was Marco suffering, and here he was, making exactly that happen. Nevertheless, even knowing what he was doing to the man he loved, Ace couldn't bring himself to regret what he had done.

_Maybe it was selfish of me, but... I'm happy it's me and not him. I wouldn't be able to endure it if I had to see Marco dying._

"Hey..." He started, before coughing and feeling a little blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "When you see my brother... can you tell him... that I'm sorry... and that I'm really proud and I love him?"

Ace saw Marco's eyes widen when he heard these words, probably understanding where he was getting at. He felt the slight pressure on his wound disappear and be replaced by a comfortably warm hand on his other cheek.

"No! You won't die, Ace! You only have to hold on for a while longer, yoi!" The way the blond's voice broke in some parts only served to show how badly he was taking everything.

"Tell oyaji and the others..." Ace continued as if he hadn't heard what Marco had said. He couldn't stop now as this could be his last chance of saying what he wanted to those he loved. "Thank you... for accepting... and letting me be… part of the family..."

"No...!" Marco shook his head. Now more tears were falling from his blue eyes stained with agony. "Ace, you won't die! You can't, yoi! I...! I love you so much! Don't-don't leave me...! _Please..._" What started to be said with conviction ended up as a weak whisper.

"I love you too... so much it hurts..." Ace couldn't help the small tears that slipped from his eyes. He wanted to spend a lot more time with Marco and be able to make many other good memories to cherish. "So... I'm really sorry..."

"No... No...!" Marco continued to deny. "Just a little bit more! Ace...!"

But at that point, Ace was already very weak and tired. With his eyelids getting heavier, he smiled and murmured a last "I love you" before closing his eyes. Marco's voice calling his name reverberated in his head for a few more seconds before silence finally took its place. And then there was nothing.


End file.
